Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the students from St. Patrick's National School in Drumard, County Longford. I hope they enjoy their day here. I welcome Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, to the House.

Noel O'Donovan (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State and the students in the Visitors Gallery to the House. I hope they enjoy their moment watching us debate issues that are really important for our areas and for this country. I welcome the Minister of State and his appointment to the role. He is a model for many in this Chamber in how he does politics and his success is an ambition for all of us.

In one of my first contributions in this House, I spoke on an issue close to my heart, which is the issue of the wastewater treatment plant in Dunmanway. Dunmanway is my hometown, it is where I went to school and it is where many of my friends and family live close by. The town is at a real crossroads regarding development, however. To be truthful, it has gone backwards. You currently cannot build a house in Dunmanway due to issues with the wastewater treatment plant. This is significant for me and the people of Dunmanway because the town cannot grow or prosper. It is a well-known figure locally that 50,000 people live within 30 minutes of Dunmanway. That is a really big figure. Dunmanway is known as the heart of west Cork but it never had a town council and it has been widely known for many years that, while other towns in west Cork have prospered, Dunmanway has stood still. The people of Dunmanway now feel forgotten once again because they cannot build and businesses cannot expand, which is a real issue. The people are impressing upon us as local representatives to raise this in the Houses of our national Parliament.

I commend a local action group that has been working on this issue in recent years. It is made up of people in the community, in business and even developers within the town. The group has engaged with Cork County Council, with us as public representatives and with Uisce Éireann on the matter, and I have supported the action group in recent years in meeting with Uisce Éireann.

To give some background, the plant was constructed in 2013. It is not a plant that is 20 or 30 years old but is just over ten years old. It no longer conforms to EU guidelines and directions with regard to water quality, however, and we need an upgrade. It was not on the radar of Uisce Éireann for many years but, thankfully, it is now through the engagement of the local action group and us as public representatives. What we are being told is that it will take five to seven years for the delivery of this upgrade to the plant. We are at stage 1 of the delivery of this, but it will take five to seven years, and that is simply too long for the people of Dunmanway. No houses were built in the town last year and, in 2023, we saw one house built. The census figures for Dunmanway show the town has been growing in recent years but it is at a stalemate.

In quite another serious issue for the town, and it is an issue right across west Cork, we need respite for children and adults with disabilities. There has been a site earmarked in the town of Dunmanway, something which was publicised recently in local newspapers, but again, this centre cannot be developed because of issues with the wastewater treatment plant.

It is well known we have a housing crisis in this country. We are at a figure of approximately 30,000 houses constructed annually and we need to grow that significantly. I am fully sure, from listening to the action group here and meeting recently with the construction industry and developers in Cork, that infrastructure is our key issue we need to solve in this country. I know that is an issue the Minister of State will be taking seriously in his new Department.

We need to increase funding to Uisce Éireann but we also need to ensure its delivery process is made more efficient. If it is a case of giving more funding, and we are all talking about the funding arising from the Apple tax case, we must ensure the process of delivery is made more efficient. We all know what the solution is for Dunmanway but we do not want it to take five to seven years to see that solution. The town needs this. I look forward to hearing what the Minister of State has to say on this issue and I thank him for being in the Chamber today to discuss the issue with me.

John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator O'Donovan and congratulate him on his appointment to the House. It gives me a good opportunity to update the House on the wastewater treatment plant in Dunmanway.

At the outset, I must advise the Water Services Acts 2007 to 2020 set out the arrangements that are in place for the delivery of water and wastewater services by Uisce Éireann and for the scrutiny and oversight of provisions that apply in respect of these arrangements.Water and wastewater services are matters for Uisce Éireann, which has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. The scope, prioritisation and progression of individual projects are matters for Uisce Éireann and approved through its board and internal governance. I, as the Minister of State, do not have a function in operational matters. That said, I met representatives of Uisce Éireann last week and will continue to engage with them, going forward, in order to prioritise infrastructure such as this.

I have made inquires on the Senator's behalf and have been informed that Uisce Éireann is aware of the difficulties with wastewater in Dunmanway. Uisce Éireann publishes an annual water and wastewater treatment capacity register and Dunmanway currently has a status of red, which means there is no spare capacity available. Uisce Éireann has been assessing the capital needs for Dunmanway wastewater treatment plant and any impact that discharges may have. The plant needs to be upgraded and Uisce Éireann has confirmed that a strategic assessment, stage 1 of the infrastructure guidelines, commenced in 2024 to identify the best long-term solution. That assessment will be completed by the end of this year. Thereafter, planning and consents will be required before the project can go to tender. However, Uisce Éireann is working on an interim solution and has held a number of workshops on the issue. Further workshops and site visits are planned for the coming weeks. Uisce Éireann is investigating what it can do within the existing system to improve the operation of the treatment plant. This will be an interim solution that may make the plant compliant and may give some additional capacity. The investigation will determine if this is possible. Uisce Éireann will have completed this investigation by the end of the second quarter of this year. It is also working with a contractor to see how to maximise the output of the plant and I am advised that will take until the third quarter of this year because a series of tests on the plant must be carried out.

I recognise the difficulty of the situation in Dunmanway. The Senator has spoken to me about it and I understand that at a national level, we need to consider all options to ensure there are sufficient wastewater treatment facilities available to support growth in locations such as Dunmanway. There is a need to crystallise to planning authorities, public representatives, developers and the public the acceptable type of wastewater treatment solutions and the development of consents in locations where existing public wastewater facilities are not available. I can confirm that work is under way with key stakeholders, including Uisce Éireann, on the development of guidelines for appropriate infrastructure, which may be provided by the private sector. Any such infrastructure would have to be fully compliant with environmental requirements and developed in accordance with appropriate specification for handover to Uisce Éireann for ongoing operation and maintenance. I look forward to responding to the Senator's follow-up.

Noel O'Donovan (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response. The thrust of my point referred to the national level in terms of how we can improve the efficiency of the delivery of these capital projects and, more locally and parochially, in respect of Dunmanway. At a high level, I welcome the Minister of State's words and engagement with Uisce Éireann. We need to speed up the process because we cannot allow situations such as that in Dunmanway. I could speak about Rosscarbery, Shannonvale and Ballydehob, where there are issues. In Castletownbere, there are drinking water issues and development is also prohibited. We need to see change in the delivery process.

In respect of Dunmanway, the Minister of State shared the information that a short-term interim solution is being considered. He said news of that would be delivered in the second quarter of this year. That is at odds with what representatives of Uisce Éireann have said locally in recent months. I ask the Minister of State to follow up on that. In recent years, we have considered short-term and interim solutions. The solid and straight news is that interim solutions for the plant cannot be put in place. We are relying on this five- to seven-year process. That is an issue which the Minister of State may take up with the Department and Uisce Éireann. We need clear and straight news for the people of Dunmanway. I thank the Minister of State.

John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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I reiterate that there are investigations to determine what will be possible in respect of an interim solution to bring the plant into compliance and potentially to allow for the expansion of capacity. Those investigations will be completed by the end of quarter 2. To reiterate, we want to continue to invest in Uisce Éireann to facilitate the maintenance of the network and to ensure there is facility for growth in areas such as Dunmanway.All those plans are to be submitted by Uisce Éireann to the Department and will be examined in the context of the national development plan and funding requirements.

To reiterate, I want to see faster progress on the delivery of these, but we also have to look at clear guidance in smaller areas where Uisce Éireann may not be able to develop, which may involve the private sector. Likewise, we have to develop clear, robust guidelines that will enable Uisce Éireann to take that infrastructure in charge.